70 Coronet for sale for bird clone

[pettybird]

Was that car campaigned out of Muncie?  That's where I was born!

[Aero426]

The Coronet was probably run out of Les Snow's shop in Illinois.  The Pierce Brothers owned a number of different salvage yards and sponsored cars for a long time.    A lot of name drivers ran for them over the years,  Ramo, Roger McCluskey, Glotzbach, Larry Moore and Les.   

You will still see ads for Hartley Truck Parts and GW Pierce Auto Parts along I-70 east of Indianapolis.   It is a big operation. 

[Old Moparz]

I used to have a 4 door, '70 Coronet Deluxe with a slant 6, AM radio & a heater. Paid $100 for it, drove it for almost a year, then traded it for a set of chrome magnum wheels & $75 cash. Of course I wish I saved it for the nose.

[held1823]

Was that car campaigned out of Muncie?  That's where I was born!

small world. muncie is 15 minutes from here.

The Coronet was probably run out of Les Snow's shop in Illinois.  The Pierce Brothers owned a number of different salvage yards and sponsored cars for a long time.    A lot of name drivers ran for them over the years,  Ramo, Roger McCluskey, Glotzbach, Larry Moore and Les.
You will still see ads for Hartley Truck Parts and GW Pierce Auto Parts along I-70 east of Indianapolis.   It is a big operation.

even smaller world. the truck yard is just south of town, and the main pierce yard a few miles farther down the same road in dunreith. the main location is late model vehicles, while the smaller yard here in town is for the older ones. sadly, all of the 1960s/70s stuff is long gone from there.

[69 DAYTONA]

...99% sure my old friend Bill Baker built that Hartley car and/or engine...he was Pierces main race guy at that point in time

[held1823]

...99% sure my old friend Bill Baker built that Hartley car and/or engine...he was Pierces main race guy at that point in time

bill is who put together my super bee, seen earlier in this thread. i can easily recall the grin on his face, the first time we took it down the road. the guy was an incredible mechanic, as that engine was indestructible. Lord knows i tried to grenade it, more than once...

[Mopurr]

So is it possible to connect up with your friend Bill?

[held1823]

unless larry is referring to a second bill baker that would have been from this area,  bill passed away several years ago.

in hindsight, i should have let him answer your question...

[69 DAYTONA]

So is it possible to connect up with your friend Bill?

....sorry, my old buddy passed away several years ago

...he built the engine in my first '69 Daytona, never drove another MOPAR like it...he was the best engine builder I ever knew...Bill worked for the Pierce Brothers for a few years, built their NASCAR racer(special exhibit at Carlisle a couple of years ago), built his own cars for the local tracks etc...above all, he was about the best buddy I ever had

PS...names on the car are "driver Roger McClusky" and "mechanic Bill Baker"

[Mopurr]

sorry to hear your friend has passed.  sounds like a really nice & cool guy.

neat old race pictures too.

Do you know any other guys that may have worked on the cars there?  Or would have any old pictures of the cars?

[69 DAYTONA]

...I know Doyle Onkst worked on the cars (chassis I think), his name is on the 14 Charger...and Mel Beck painted some of them...unfortunately, they are all deceased

[69 DAYTONA]

another shot.......

[held1823]

larry, what year was that photo of bill taken? i doubt mt. lawn has changed much since then. the light pole even looked the same the last time i was there. i'll have to show that photo to dad, since he knew bill pretty well.

i recall being out at bill's house while he worked on the bee, and slobbering all over myself at the three or four complete hemis sitting under the workbench. i need to repeat that slobbering sometime soon, at the 'home.

[69 DAYTONA]

...I would guess about 1970-1

...HEMI engines, HEMI parts layin' everywhere

[held1823]

check this out, in regards to the #14 car. is it the same one?

http://www.hodgerestorations.com/Race%20Car%20Restoration.html

[Aero426]

The car restored by Le Hodge it is said to be the '74 Pierce Brothers Charger.     The one with the '72 quarter window was another one of their cars at the same time.  

The Pierce car was always fast, but when Larry Moore got in it, it was BAD fast.    The value of the wing car on a flat mile like Milwaukee has been debated.    Bobby Unser set the track record in 1972 in the Nichels #5 Superbird at like 33.07 seconds.    That record stood for FOUR years until Larry Moore broke it in the Pierce car.    It was the first stock car to turn a lap in the 32's at Milwaukee.    They had their mojo workin'.

[held1823]

thanks for the history and info. after i posted that link here, i remembered the other photo of the (older) pierce car was posted in the dave witcomb daytona thread. it wasn't until i "rediscovered" that photo that i even realized this body was a later model.

does the hodge car have a nichels connection? the track record you mention hints at it having some big league stuff under the sheet metal. it's amazing i grew up in the same area the pierces' are from, and never realized just how well known and high tech their cars were.

[Aero426]

Almost every Chrysler race car competing in a major stock car series at that time was "Nichels built".  They had the assembly line.   They were the factory connection for parts.  They had the jigs and fixtures to perform a fast repair on a heavy hit.   Most cars were turn key complete and sent to the individual teams for their own touches.   Some cars could be sent off in a semi-complete fashion if desired.    Petty often built his own cars as the exception.

[superbirdtom]

  one question for anybody.  Did the 70 r/t coronets have honeycomb grilles?

I've never seen a honeycomb grille in any flavor of '70 Coronet. 
All of the grilles I have seen have the vertical bars. 
Some of the them have the vertical bars blacked out. 
AFAIK, all of them had the surrounding shell painted argent.  -----

  I MUST BE THINKING OF THE 70 GTX  THAT HAD THE HONEYCOMB GRILLE   THANKS  ARNIE

[mopar_man]

What would 50k buy in an 70 R/T or a Bee ? Trying to get a feel for whats out there .

[oldcarnut]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-DODGE-CORONET-RT-CONV-440-6-PACK-GREEN-WHITE-SCAT-PAC-LIKE-NEW-COND-/280815185750?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4161e3af56
Looks like it so far.  Check out others on there as they come up to get a better idea